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Daily Humor: Equifax awarded no bid IRS fraud protection contract

Now, to be honest I've been on the fast go since 5:30am Tuesday morning.
I'm hoping that when I check MFO Wednesday morning, someone will have let me know this article is really "fake news".
Good Night.

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/03/equifax-irs-fraud-protection-contract-243419

Comments

  • You must have missed this paragraph in the article:

    "I was initially under the impression that my staff was sharing a copy of the Onion, until I realized this story was, in fact, true," [Oregon Representative] Blumenauer wrote.

    Here's CNN's report, which seems to be independent of Politico, while acknowledging that Politico broke the story.
    http://money.cnn.com/2017/10/03/news/india/equifax-irs-contract/index.html
  • You can't make this stuff up. Rotten to the core.
  • TedTed
    edited October 2017
    Daily Humor:
    :
    @MFO Members Now, to be honest I've been on the fast go since 5:30am Tuesday morning gathering information about mutual funds, ETFs and news and views regarding investing. Yesterday, my staff worked tirelessly to find and link several mutual fund articles with an occasional off-topic subject of humor. On top of that I discovered and brought to Chip's attention the problem with fund symbols. I was hoping that when I check MFO Wednesday morning, Catch22 would have link some type of mutual fund or ETF article from the web. One again , I see he has let me down.
    Good Morning,
    Ted:)
    I
  • Hi @msf @Old_Joe @Ted .....et al.

    I was indeed mentally whipped and drained (hospital waiting with family member that started at 5:30am and ended at 9:30pm) when I saw this article late Tuesday night; and offered the story to the board for clarification.

    For any who feel the Equifax situation is just "so much to do about nothing", I offer the following real world circumstance.
    For the 2015 tax year, after filing our 1040 for that year; we received a letter from the IRS. Someone/a computer or whatever entity had already attempted to file a tax form for the year using my SSN. The State of Michigan Treasury had also been notified of the breach. I had to provide, via mail; many copied forms of personal identification including pass years 1040's. Both of us were eventually issued 6 digit PIN numbers to be used for tax filing.
    Obviously, this is scary stuff; and makes one feel quite naked to the world of personal data that I/we would not normally share with many folks.

    So, now this story that I briefly read late at night and not unlike @msf noting that this is a joke about the irony of the IRS and Equifax connection. Yes, this must be an Onion news product and also reminded me of something I could have seen on Saturday Night Live and their "news" report.

    Thanks for the replies noting the "real" circumstance.

    One real positive, IMO; is that the potential monetary breach playing field is now leveled between we "wee" folks and those at the highest levels of government. For the first time, in too long of time; I will pen a note to our Michigan/Federal level folks requesting their thoughts and feeling about Equifax in general and the new IRS deal. I might actually have their ear this time and receive a valid reply.

    Take care of you and yours,
    Catch

  • And the greatest nation ever known just twittered away. @Catch, you assume your Michigan/Federal level folks have "thoughts and feelings" outside of conveniently structured FAQ responses.

    How many levels and types of insurance/protection money does it take? I watched the Godfather. I recognize what protection payments are. WTF is going on?
  • edited October 2017
    Hi @Anna
    Yes, you are correct. I fully expect a "copy and paste" reply already set into an electronic file appropriate for a response to the "citizens".
    I'll add a portion of lyric from Michigan musician, Bob Seger; from a 1978 album, for the song titled "More than a Number":

    I take my card and I stand in line
    To make a buck I work overtime
    Dear sir letters keep coming in the mail
    I work my back till its racked with pain
    The boss can't even recall my name
    I show up late and Im docked
    It never fails
    I feel like just another
    Spoke in a great big wheel
    Like a tiny blade of grass
    In a great big field
    To workers I'm just another drone
    To Ma Bell I'm just another phone
    Im just another statistic on a sheet
    To teachers I'm just another child
    To IRS I'm just another file
    I'm just another consensus on the street
  • @catch22: "hospital waiting with family member" I hope there is nothing seriously wrong with any member of your family !
    Regards,
    Ted:)
  • @Ted
    Thank you and no longer anything serious; but I know you understand the stress levels that can overwhelm everyone involved.
    Regards,
    Catch
  • @ catch22: Yes, I can relate. Best wishes to you & all involved & concerned. Take a break when the opportunity arises to move forward.... and "to the IRS (we are) just another file" but here at MFO we are "just another (valued) poster"...
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